When the Sacramento band Cake served slices of its sophomore album, "Fashion Nugget," to college radio stations, listeners demanded second helpings of the album's single, "The Distance"; it's a tune that deftly displays the group's ability to blend white funk with an eclectic mix of musical sensibilities.

On the song, the five-piece group stir together dramatic guitar, eerie keyboard, a driving bass line with a touch of mournful trumpet and a teaspoon of bitterness whipped up by singer John McCrea. For the icing, the group had director Mark Kohr (Primus, Green Day) create a clever video (love those animals cheering on a sprinting business executive), which has been shown heavily on MTV.

Whether or not Cake can go the distance is another matter. But "Fashion Nugget" is a good first release under the supportive arm of major label, Capricorn Records. Guitarist and founding member Greg Brown wrote "The Distance," the only song he penned on the album. Humble about the band's success, Brown recently spoke about the benefits of starting a band in Sacramento, singer McCrea's fondness for sarcasm and the stress of touring in a van.

RS.COM: Will the success of The Distance" mean you'll be writing more songs?

GREG BROWN: Man, I sure hope so. I was delighted that John was receptive to it, because he's been writing songs for a long time. It was the only song I wrote to appear on the record. I'm really happy with it. John did a great vocal track. Victor (Damiani) put down a good bass line, and Vincent (di Fiore) came up with a cool trumpet part.

RS.COM: What's the song about?

GB: I wrote it about a relationship of mine. It's about a guy who races and races, even after the race is over. He's basically clueless. I used the race car metaphor so it wouldn't be so sentimental ... it seemed apt.

RS.COM: Is Sacramento a tough town to start a band?

GB: No, it's actually a pretty good scene because it's small, so it's not too hard for a band to get attention. The promoters have been good at getting us gigs with major acts. Even when we first started in '91, promoters were hooking us up with pretty big names, like The Monks of Doom or Jonathan Richman.

RS.COM: Did you create the band with a vision in mind or did your music evolve into the sound you have today?

GB: It was a little bit of both. When John, Vincent and I formed the band, we had an idea that we wanted to take our cue from a soul production angle. Basically, we wanted to make music to draw people in. We respected the writing of Hank Williams Sr. and the blending of styles by groups like Sly and The Family Stone ... We try to cover all those bases. And we think having a trumpet player makes our sound more complex than if we were to have just a raging guitar.

RS.COM:Is sarcasm a difficult device to pull off in song writing?

GB: Well, I'm not a sarcastic guitarist, but it's pretty recurrent in our songs. John uses it probably for the same reason I used the race car metaphor in "Distance": to basically distance himself from the song.

RS.COM: Is it tough keeping a band together?

GB:It's hard because familiarity can breed contempt, especially when traveling. We don't have a bus -- it's six guys crammed in a van. We don't have a lot of time to ourselves and that can create stress. But I can't complain. We have a great band that really functions well together.

RS.COM: So how is life on the road?

GB: The clubs we're playing are packed. We played on Conan [O'Brien] with a major tour with the Counting Crows to follow. But we're still struggling.

RS.COM: What would you tell a young band starting out?

GB: I would tell them to work hard and work effectively. But really enjoy music, because that's what you're going to ultimately take awa